TINNIBUZZ

Sunday, January 12, 2014

A New Tinnitus Relief Brings New Hope For Sufferers: A Study

A new therapy called Vagus Nerve Stimulation-tone (VNS) is considered safe and brought significant improvement to some of tinnitus sufferers in a small clinical trial, according to UT Dallas researchers.

Dr. Sven Vanneste and Michael Kilgard of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences used a new method pairing Vagus Nerve Stimulation with auditory tones to alleviate the symptoms of chronic tinnitus. As quoted from http://www.utdallas.edu, the results of their study were published on Nov. 20 in the journal Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation is a method approved by FDA for treating various illnesses including depression and epilepsy. This method involves sending a mild electric pulse through the vagus nerve. It relays information about the state of the body to the brain.

Vanneste explained that the primary goal of the study was to evaluate safety of VNS-tone therapy in tinnitus sufferers. “ Vagus Nerve Stimulation-tone therapy was expected to be safe because it requires less than 1 percent of the VNS approved by the FDA for the treatment of intractable epilepsy and depression. Well, there were no significant adverse events in our study.” He added.

Estimates vary, but Vanneste said that more than 12 million Americans have tinnitus severe enough to seek medical attention. Unfortunately, of which 2 million are so disabled that they cannot function normally. In addition to that, he said that there has been no consistently effective treatment.

A stimulation electrode was implanted directly on the vagus nerve of 10 tinnitus patients. They received 2 ½ hours of daily treatment for 20 days. Image source: utdallas.edu.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation-tone For Tinnitus Relief

The study involved implanting 10 tinnitus sufferers with a stimulation electrode directly on the vagus nerve. The participants received 2 ½ hours of daily treatment for 20 days. They had lived with tinnitus for at least a year prior to participating in the study, and showed no benefit from previous audiological, medication, or neuromodulation therapy.

Electrical pulses were generated from an external device for this study; however, future work could involve using internal generators so that eliminating the need for clinical visits.

Results of The Study

Half of the participants demonstrated large decreases in their tinnitus symptoms in which three of them showing a 44-percent reduction in the impact of tinnitus on their daily lives. And four people demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions in the perceived loudness of their tinnitus by 26 decibels.

There were five participants on medications for other problems who did not show significant changes whereas other four participants who benefited from the therapy were not using any medications. This report attributes drug interactions as blocking the effects of the VNS-tone therapy.

Vanneste explained that in all four of the 10 patients showed relevant decreases on tinnitus questionnaires and audiological measures. “The observation that these improvements were stable for more than two months after the end of the one month therapy is encouraging.” He said.

Other researchers at the University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium, and MicroTransponder Inc. also contributed to the study.

For further study, a larger one involving four different centers will soon begin in the United States.

How To Provide Home Remedies For Tinnitus Relief?

What are home remedies for tinnitus relief that can help reduce symptoms? In addition to several treatments for tinnitus that your doctors recommend (Read: What are conventional treatments for tinnitus that help?), there are also home remedies that you can also provide to reduce the symptoms.

Ringing ear or tinnitus is a physical condition experienced as noises or ringing in the ears or head when no such external physical noise is present. This condition can seriously diminish a person's hearing. Many causes, almost everything that can go wrong with our ears, can produce tinnitus as a symptom.

Unfortunately, conventional medicine has no cure; but, there are certain home remedies for tinnitus that can alleviate its effects so that making it easier to hear.

Most Popular Home Remedies For Tinnitus

Both conventional and alternative medications, as well as home remedies, focus on reducing the symptoms of tinnitus. In conventional medication, your doctor may prescribe amitriptyline, nortriptyline, or alprazolam to it. But if you want to try home remedies, the followings are many that you can use.

Home Remedies For Tinnitus Using Herbs

Ginkgo biloba. This herb has a good reputation in Traditional Chinese Medicine as memory-enhancing herbs. In treating tinnitus, it works by enhancing blood flow to the edges of the body, especially the head and brain.

Circulatory problem is one of factors that worsen and may lead to tinnitus. If your tinnitus is due to it, the herb gingko is likely to help.

How to provide home remedies for tinnitus relief using gingko? You can take 240 mg of a standardized Gingko in capsule form daily. After 6 weeks, you can cut the dose to 40-60 mg daily.

Home Remedies For Tinnitus Using Supplements

Coenzyme Q10. It is another supplement that you can also use as natural cure for tinnitus. Several previous clinical trials reported that coenzyme Q10 may be helpful for certain people for reducing noises in the ears from tinnitus depending on the nature of their condition.
To provide remedies for tinnitus, you can take 200 mg of coenzyme Q10 daily. Or, you can consult your natural health practitioner for personalized dosing guidelines.

Zinc. Several studies reported that zinc is helpful in age-related tinnitus and hearing loss. To reduce the symptoms of tinnitus, you can use zinc in the picolinate form taken 90-150 mg daily for 3-6 months.

Vitamin B12. One of factors worsening or leading to tinnitus is lack of vitamin B12, according to many clinical studies. If these reports are true, supplying vitamin B12 1000 mcg by injection weekly can help reduce the symptoms. Ask your doctor for more details.

Home Remedies For Tinnitus Using Retraining Therapy

A therapy called tinnitus retraining is also a recommended remedy you can also use at home. This therapy teaches you how to reduce or eliminate negative emotional reactions and to learn to live with the tinnitus. Ask your doctor to teach how to use it.

Home Remedies For Tinnitus Using Biofeedback

Using background music or mechanical noise like that of a fan is helpful for masking tinnitus, especially at night and during quiet periods. If your tinnitus is severe and nothing else has helped, maskers of broad-band tinnitus or sound generators that biofeedback devices provide are a good choice. If you want to try biofeedback technique, ask your doctor for details.

Friday, January 10, 2014

What Are Conventional Treatments For Tinnitus That Help?

What are treatment for tinnitus that can help reduce the symptoms? In general, tinnitus is a symptom generated within a person's own auditory pathways. It is usually not the case, although often assumed as a result of ear disease.

One third of all adults experience tinnitus at some time in their lives. Several reputable surveys report that about 10%–15% of adults have prolonged tinnitus requiring medical attention. Read also What Is Tinnitus: Introduction and Overview.

The common symptoms include these types of phantom noises in your ears: ringing, clicking, buzzing, hissing, etc. Read also Tinnitus: What Are Causes and Symptoms of It?.

Treatment For Tinnitus

There are some treatment that you can use to treat tinnitus, ranging from special medications, noise suppression, home remedies etc. The followings are many conventional steps that your doctors may take to treat tinnitus, as quoted from Mayoclinic.

Your doctors will first try to identify any underlying treatable condition that may be associated with the symptoms. They may be able to take steps that could reduce the noise if tinnitus is due to a health condition. Many examples include:

Buildup earwax is one of many factors worsening tinnitus. If tinnitus is due to this condition, removing impacted earwax can decrease the symptoms.
Tinnitus can also be due to blood vessel problems. Underlying blood vessel conditions may require medications, certain surgery, or another treatment to overcome it.
Certain medications have ototoxic effects that can lead to tinnitus. If a medication that you are taking worsen the condition, your doctor may recommend stopping or cutting the drug or switching to a different medication.

Treating Tinnitus Using Noise Suppression

White noise, in some cases, may help suppress the sound so that it's less bothersome. In general, your doctor may suggest using an electronic device to suppress the noise. These include:

The electronic devices, called white noise machines, produce simulated environmental sounds such as ocean waves. These devices are often an effective treatment for tinnitus or ringing ear. You may want to try a white noise machine with pillow speakers to help you sleep. Some other electronic devices in your bedroom such as air conditioner, humidifiers and fan may also help cover the internal noise at night.
Hearing problems is considered as one of tinnitus causes. If these problems lead to tinnitus, hearing aids can be especially helpful.
Tinnitus masker devices produce a continuous low-level white noise that suppresses tinnitus symptoms. You can use them in the ear, similar to hearing aids.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is one of many recommend treatment for tinnitus. It provides individually programmed tonal music to mask the specific frequencies of the tinnitus. Technically, it works by covering disturbing sounds or noises.

Treating Tinnitus With Medications

No drugs for tinnitus; however, in some cases some medications may help reduce the severity of symptoms or complications. Your doctor may prescribe these medications to reduce the symptoms.

Some doctors may prescribe tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline for reducing the symptoms. Since these medications cause unpleasant side effects, however, your doctors recommend them only for severe cases.
Another medication, alprazolam, may help reduce tinnitus symptoms. Unfortunately, there are many unpleasant side effects that may follow.

Since tinnitus is not a major disease, you should know first the main things that lead to tinnitus. That’s why it’s a good deal if you consult it with your doctor before taking any medications or treatments.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Tinnitus: What Are Causes and Symptoms of It?

Tinnitus means any unknown sound or noise that a person can hear from inside their body rather than from an outside source. As it’s not a major single disease, the main causes of this condition is not known certainly. (Read also what is tinnitus? An introduction and overview.)

Ear ringing or tinnitus is a symptom generated within a person's own auditory pathways. This condition, although often assumed as a result of ear disease, is usually not the case.

Although tinnitus can worsen with age, in some cases, it tinnitus can improve with treatment. Handling an identified underlying cause sometimes helps to reduce the symptoms. Other therapies reduce or mask the noise so that making tinnitus less noticeable.

Symptoms of Tinnitus

There are many common symptoms of tinnitus. And each reference may describe different symptoms. Mayoclinic describes that tinnitus involves the annoying sensation of hearing sound when no external sound is present. The common symptoms include these types of phantom noises in your ears: ringing, buzzing, hissing, clicking, or roaring.

The phantom noise may vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal. You may hear it in one or both ears. The sound or noise, in some cases, can be so loud it can interfere with your ability to concentrate or hear actual sound. This ear ringing may be present all the time or may come and go.

Causes of Tinnitus

It may not always be possible to identify what's causing tinnitus, according to many theories; however, this condition is often worsened by several factors. These are include:

Exposure to loud noises can damage cilia, hair cells in the inner ear. Keep in mind, damaged cilia cannot be treated.
Wax build-up that blocks the ear.
Physical trauma to the head and neck can induce tinnitus.
Certain disorders such as thyroid problems, Lyme disease, and fibromyalgia, can cause tinnitus symptom. When tinnitus is a symptom of another disorder, handling the disorder can help alleviate the tinnitus.
Certain medications, especially those having ototoxic side effects, can lead to tinnitus symptoms. They will produce tinnitus as a side effect, which can be permanent or temporary, without damaging the inner ear. To avoid any unpleasant effects, it’s a good deal to consult it with your pharmacist before taking any of medication.
One type of tinnitus that rarely occurs, pulsatile tinnitus, worsens the symptoms of tinnitus. Pulsatile tinnitus can be due to abnormal blood flow in arteries or veins close to the inner ear, irregularities in brain structure, and tumors.

Tinnitus is rarely an indication of a serious health problems; however, it’s a good idea to see your doctor if you think you might develop tinnitus.

What Is Tinnitus: Introduction and Overview

Tinnitus is a common problem. Almost everyone at one time or another has experienced brief periods of mild ringing or other sounds in the ear while some people have more annoying and constant types. This condition can occur in one or both ears.

One third of all adults experience tinnitus at some time in their lives. Estimates vary, but several reputable surveys report that about 10%–15% of adults have prolonged tinnitus requiring medical attention.

Although the exact cause of tinnitus is often not known, one important thing you should concern is that tinnitus is not imaginary.

So, what is tinnitus? A short article below will describe this condition in a common perception.

What Is Tinnitus?

Do you find you have ringing, buzzing, or whistling sounds in your ears or head that no one else can hear?

If your answer is “YES”, you are not alone. Nearly 36 million Americans suffer from those symptoms. These may be an intermittent sound or an annoying continuous sound in one or both ears.

Tinnitus commonly describes any sound or noise that a person can hear from inside their body rather than from an outside source.

Historically, the word “tinnitus” came from the Latin word that means ringing in ear. Other several sounds or noises that people with tinnitus can hear include: buzzing, hissing, humming, whistling, grinding, or clicking.

Almost all theories describe that tinnitus may occur subjectively or objectively. In subjective tinnitus case, it’s only the patient who can hear the noises. Meanwhile in objective tinnitus, it’s a physician or other professionals who may hear the noise while doing an examination.

Anyone can get tinnitus; however, some people who are more likely to develop the condition include male, white people, over 65-years-old older adults, and those with age-related hearing loss. Some people who are living in certain conditions, such as people who have been exposed to loud noises for extended periods of time or those with post-traumatic stress disorder, are known to have higher rates of tinnitus.

Tinnitus is not a major disease. This condition itself is a condition that isn’t harmful and usually improves over time. Unfortunately, there’s currently no single treatment that works in the same way for everyone. But if an underlying cause can be established, it can often be effectively treated.

So if you think you develop tinnitus or ear ringing, it’s a good deal to see your general practitioners. It is very important for you as your tinnitus may be due to a temporary condition that your doctor can treat.

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